I was walking the path to the temple in the middle of the winter. The old barn, painted deep red, was now a warm meditation center. After I arrived to the meditation hall, I approached the Zen teacher and I asked the question that had been bothering me for years. “What is love?” I whispered. He looked at me straight in the eye. “What are you doing right now?” he said with a smile. I wasn’t sure what he meant. I swallowed. “Is that it?” I tried again. “Keep a heart clear and open like the sky,” he kindly insisted.
I realized, years later, that love is not that complicated. It is not a touchy feeling either. There is love everywhere, and it manifests, moment by moment, through every one of your actions. The road of mindfulness allows you to see the open space within your heart as you embrace every moment. By paying attention, you learn to become intimate with all things, you can manifest that love. And the more you remove your prejudice, the more your heart will resemble the clear and open sky.
Take a moment to reflect:
Moment by moment love is action.
Moment by moment the heart opens
to all things and becomes
the clear and open sky
Juan Velasco